Those are the first collards of the season from the garden that will be part of our meal tonight. Because they are young they will be especially tender and delicious. I have them simmering already with chopped onions, some chicken Better Than Bouillon, salt, pepper, a little olive oil, and some balsamic vinegar which is a beautiful thing in greens because it gives them that sweetness. Southern cooks have always added a tiny bit of sugar to their greens but with the balsamic, you don't need it.
The meat of the pig is also often used in the cooking of greens in the south. I believe there was good reason for this back in early days, one of them being that the cheapest cuts of pork were what many people could afford and not much of that. So using what could be bought as a seasoning in the greens added a little protein, some needed fat, and a lot of flavor, especially if the pork was smoked. I have seen more modern cooks use a smoked turkey wing in their greens and that sounds good. I've used a few drops of liquid smoke in my greens many times but that's not necessary. I imagine that some smoked paprika would work well too.
It might seem weird that I would say that the pork gave the greens needed fat but remember- those were the days before the normal diet was full of the fats that we consume in so many different ways. Especially for those who were living on very little money. One of my favorite lines of one of Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's books comes from a woman who was welcoming Marjorie to "The Creek". She is a Black woman and has been raised there, knows all the neighbors and their histories, and is a sort of de facto expert on all things related to The Creek. She tells Marjorie that although life there is not easy, one can indeed procure enough of their "grits and grease" to live on if they try. If you think about it, there were probably very few sources of dietary fat commonly available then. Venison, which was hunted and eaten by many, is very, very low in fat. Same with the fish they caught. Cows were raised to eat and to milk but not many could afford their feed and keep. Most of the cattle (and I'm talking about Florida here) were wild things, scrub cows, that were rounded up and driven to market, and they were scrawny and tough, I am sure. A milk cow was somewhat of a luxury, I think, and so the cream needed to make butter was not often available.
Olive oil sure wasn't around. Neither was corn oil. Peanut, coconut, avocado oil? I doubt anyone ever even dreamed of those sorts of fat.
So there was the pig. Far more easily and cheaply raised then cows, and just full of fat.
It was a different world, a different time, but damn- pork is still delicious and many still eat it and use it as seasoning, consuming the fat of it whether we need it or not.
And of course, mostly not.
Still- how many of us remember that can beside the stove that our mothers poured their bacon grease in to keep for cooking? And many great bakers still claim that lard (the rendered fat of the pig) is the best fat for making pastry, far better than butter.
I surely did not mean to come here to talk about pork fat tonight. Hell, I don't know what I came to talk about.
I'm sort of having a time of it, feeling low and without energy or purpose. It sucks.
But I did take a walk this morning. Not a long one, but enough to get me up and out. And did some laundry and gathered up the branches the roofers had cut away from the house and hauled them to the burn pile. I've been meaning to do this for weeks so it feels good to finally get it done.
The kidney stone doc just called and gave me a report. I really appreciate the fact that he calls me himself to discuss things. It turns out that the stone is 8mm which is a pretty large stone. Too large to actually enter the ureter. So. It is not going to make that agonizing journey down the tube. But it appears that it is trying, moving forward, moving back, which is what is causing my discomfort. Sound wave lithotripsy can be done. I should have asked him what the benefits of that would be. I suppose one of them would be that I wouldn't have to live with yet another type of chronic pain. He said I don't have to make any decisions right away and I appreciated that too. It is comforting to know that he's there and available should I need him.
So that's life here. Hank and Rachel are on their way home from Miami after a fabulous weekend. Lily and her kids are at the fair which is happening this week in Tallahassee. How I used to love the fair and Lily invited us to go but I just can't even begin to imagine that sort of stimulation and input these days.
To end on a positive note, here's a joke August told me yesterday.
Why did the lion cross the savannah?
To get to the other pride.
There were more in the same vein. Here's one I just made up.
Why did the groom cross the church?
To get to the other bride.
Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?
I gotta go cook my grits.
Love...Ms. Moon
Lithotripsy is a procedure that uses shock waves to break up stones in the kidney and parts of the ureter! Be prepared for some pain when the bits and pieces get peed out!
ReplyDeleteI have never had a stone, but I did push out two boys ... sciatic pain is damned excruciating for me, too!
Yes. You're right- the pain when the gravel gets peed out can be pretty fierce. I remember it from when I had the last stone.
DeleteI've heard that sciatic pain is horrible.
well, that's a good sized stone.....and probably lithotripsy would be warranted....but peeing out the remnants thereof for weeks doesn't not sound *welcoming* either.....but maybe it would end your continued problems overall ? Balsamic is always my friend..... we do not get collards here..but kale and chard...and I always use balsamic and it works well. talking about pork is never too much,,, in any way, shape, or form.....pork rules!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
It's funny- I know without a doubt that if you can grow kale, then collards can also be grown. I think it's just a geographical thing that more people outside the south don't eat collards.
DeleteBalsamic is delicious.
I remember tipping the bacon grease into a can on the stove at my parent's house. I honestly don't remember doing it myself. And I had a girlfriend who only used lard for baking. Her pie crusts were to die for.
ReplyDeleteI remember when canister sets came with one for bacon grease. They had a sort of filter in them. Do you remember this?
DeleteInteresting discussion of dietary fat and how it wasn't very available to poorer people. Yes, wild game is very muscular, in order to survive, at least till hunted. I hadn't thought about fat in this context, but if pork is too expensive, you're really in no danger of overdoing the fat in your diet. Quite a change from now. I wonder if chickens were available or if they were just for eggs.
ReplyDeleteChickens were ubiquitous, I think. Both eggs and the meat being sources of readily available protein. But I bet that the chickens raised on mostly what they could forage weren't very fat. Eggs, of course, have their own fat, and they would have been eaten when available.
DeleteAnd without fat in the diet they would have been deficient in the fat soluble vitamins ADE & K.
ReplyDeleteFat is a much maligned nutrient as all types have been lumped together. I try to avoid the manufactured ones.
Yes. Without fat, no absorption of those vitamins.
DeleteThat is an interesting take on pork fat. I would never have thought of it in that light. We are a very spoiled nation, aren't we? I remember reading a book written by a woman who had escaped from North Korea. She said that being heavy is equated with attractiveness, because you just don't see overweight people there.
ReplyDeleteWe are a spoiled nation but not always to our benefit. And it is very much of a luxury to be overweight.
DeleteI remember the bucket for the pork fat and one for the beef drippings too. I remember using lard for baking when I worked on the sheep station (ranch) in my teens.
ReplyDeleteNow I do not remember beef fat being kept but of course, I am sure that many people did. Tallow, right?
DeleteYes, but we only ever called it dripping. candles used to be made from tallow way back in the older ages.
DeleteMy mouth is literally watering at the thought of eating your grits and greens.
ReplyDeleteThey were good, lady!
DeleteHere in France they remove the fat/skin from a pork joint before selling. Why, I'll never know, as I have such great memories of eating the crackling as a kid!!! What they do sell though is goose fat and that gives a wonderful taste to everything. I have a cabbage and leeks I have to use up so that gives me an idea ....!
ReplyDeleteThat is odd- the crackling is the best part!
DeleteAnd over here, we don't really use goose fat although I think that the use of duck fat is becoming more common.
Why did the hitchhiker cross the highway? To get to the other ride.
ReplyDeleteWhy did the tanner cross the workshop? To get to the other hide.
Why did the grocery shopper cross the household goods aisle? To get to the other Tide.
Hoo boy, you really got me started. I'd better stop. Feel free to pass these examples of spontaneous nonsense on to any silliness-loving children you happen to know!
Haha! Those are great! You can just about go on forever with those, can't you?
DeleteUnfortunately, yes I can.
DeleteWhy did the tour group cross the Colosseum? To get to the other guide.
I think that kidney stone worry is bringing you down. I'm sure it is hard not to think about it when it's causing you some pain. Hope you can get a quick easy solution soon so you can forget about kidney stones!
ReplyDeleteWell, it is worrying. But then I worry about every damn thing so what else is new?
DeleteUnfortunately, there is no quick and/or easy solution to a kidney stone. Whoever comes up with that one deserves the Nobel.
I cook my greens with chicken bullion, chopped onion and garlic. I'll have to try adding a little balsamic vinegar or maybe a little salt pork. I never really considered the lack of fat to be an underlying cause of how lean people were before modern food. I always assumed it was because they worked hard all day. butter is my favorite fat. I don't make my own pie crust but I do buy the ready made ones made with lard. so much better.
ReplyDeleteApple cider vinegar is good in them too but of course that adds no sweetness.
DeletePeople DID work hard, didn't have as much to eat, and certainly did not have as much fat or sugar as we have now.
I often use shortening in my pie crust which I think is better than butter.
I've often thought how different diets were back in the day. I imagine sugar in all its many modern forms was inconceivable to people back then, too -- they were eating molasses and stuff like that, rather than processed high fructose corn syrup! (Though I guess there was Karo, at some point. Is that corn?)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I did not come here to talk about sugar. LOL
My mom used to have a "grease jar" sitting beside the stove but she didn't cook with it. She just filled it up and then threw it out when it got full. We do the same here to keep fat out of the plumbing.
In Florida, I'm sure the main sugar sources were wild honey (probably rare-ish) and cane syrup. Have you had cane syrup? It tastes somewhat like molasses. I love it on cornbread.
DeleteI either just throw my cooled bacon grease in the trash (there's usually not a lot) or take the pan outside and dump the grease out there.
You throw it out? We used it for frying eggs and roasting vegetables, I didn't know about using it for pastry until later but now wonder if my mum used it for her delicious apple strudels. Dad and sister ate bread spread with lard and sprinkled with salt. Saltz and schmaltz, my brother and I preferred butter and vegemite.
DeleteI remember reading how someone visited a friend back in WW2 Britain, when rationing was v. strict. She was offered a piece of delicious cake and asked how the cook had obtained enough butter to bake. The baker said ( sheepishly) that she had used the fat which dripped off a cooked chicken!
ReplyDeleteJanF
Pork fat is the best. For eating and for soaping! I still render my own fat for this.
ReplyDelete